This invention relates to providing a system for improved camera image georeferencing. More particularly, this invention relates to providing a system for constructing at least one georeferencing-enabled camera model and its deployment in georeferencing targets located in video sequences utilizing a single video camera.
The usefulness of video surveillance systems is becoming increasingly acknowledged as the demand for enhanced safety has increased. Areas commonly covered by such systems, include, for example, monitoring of harbors, airports, bridges, power plants, parking garages, public spaces, and other high-value assets. Traditionally, such camera networks require a labor-intensive deployment and monitoring by human security personnel. Human-monitored systems are, in general, relatively costly and prone to human error. For these reasons, the development of technology to automate the deployment, calibration, and monitoring of such systems will be increasingly important in the field of video surveillance.
For example, in automated video surveillance of sensitive infrastructures, it is always desirable to detect and alarm in the event of intrusion. To perform such a task reliably, it is often helpful to classify detected objects beforehand and to also track such detected objects with a view to discern an actual threat from the underlying events and activities. In the absence of geo-referencing, which brings about the capability of relating image coordinates to those in the underlying scene, the video surveillance entity will not have a notion of real size of the detected objects in image space. The acquisition of real size data for detected objects is important to determining potential targets from benign objects. Moreover, absence of geo-referencing precludes having a notion of true kinematics of the target, including a target's real velocity and acceleration. Additionally, georeferencing with a single camera, demands the presence of landmark-rich scene which may not be forthcoming in many instances, such as in the surveillance of ports and harbors, or when a site is being remotely monitored and it is not feasible to introduce synthetic landmarks into the scene. Clearly, in reference to the above-described issues, the development of systems to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of automated video surveillance would be of benefit to many.